The end of Ethereum mining could be a bonanza for GPU shoppers
While these GPUs were liquidated following 2018 flooding in China, they provide a good visual for the flood of GPUs hitting secondhand markets these days. (credit: Unwire HK)
For most of the world, yesterday's long-awaited Ethereum "Merge"-which took the cryptocurrency from proof-of-work mining to a proof-of-stake model-is notable for cutting Ethereum's energy consumption by 99.95 percent. But for gamers, the Merge has already contributed to a dramatic shift in the market for GPUs and could continue to drive down graphics card prices going forward.
In recent years, crypto miners had been scooping up as many GPUs as they could to power their mining rigs, leading to short supplies and heavily inflated prices for consumers who just wanted better graphics on their PC games. That trend seems to have reversed itself in late 2021, though, as dollar-denominated prices for most cryptocurrencies began a long slide that made GPU mining unprofitable in many areas.
Prices for GPUs have already plummeted throughout 2022, leading to GPUs routinely going for significantly less than their MSRP on auction sites like eBay. GPU manufacturers have been left with an unexpected surplus of excess inventory.